Fiber-cleaning machine



L. H. TOLHURST.

Fl-BER. CLEANING MACHINE.

' APPLlCATlON FILED JUNE24, 1912.

1,331,170. 7 Patented Feb. 17,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

bf krlvey L. H. TOLHURST.

FIBER CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE24. 1918.

1 ,33 1 1 70, Y Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' J Iowa-SH 1625a;

UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Louis H. ronnuns'r, or LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

FIBER-CLEANING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS H. TOLHURST, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Fiber-Cleaning Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of separat ing vegetable fiber from the pectinous and cellular matter hereinafter called-the pulp in which it is found embedded in the Spanish bayonet or yucca and similar plants.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a machine for separating the desired fiber from the pulp. It should be understood that in the yucca and in many kinds of similar plants thefibers which are continuous and run throughout the length of the leaf of the plant are carried in a mass of pectinous or cellular material from which they must be separated to render them of commercial value. The object of my invention is to so separate the fiber from the pulp. This I accomplish by a triple action. In the first place, the fibers are subjected to a rubbing or grinding action between rubbing plates. They are also subjected'to the action of a comb, and they are further subjected to rapid motion for the purpose of throwing out from the fiber the separated material, all of these operations being car- 1 ried on simultaneously in a single machine.

Further objects and advantages'will be made evident hereinafter.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only-- Figure 1 is a front view of a machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a section on a plane represented by the line 22 of Fig. 1, this plane being viewedin the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an end view of my invention.

Inthe form of the invention illustrated the variousparts are carried in a frame 11 to which are journaled a pair of feed rolls 12 and a pair of tail rolls 13, these rolls being adjustable in relation to each other by means of screws 14. Located between the feed rolls 12 and the tail rolls 13 is the machine proper which consists of an upper rub- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 24, 1918. SerialNo. 241.699.

rigidly secured to a lower plate shaft '23. The lower rubbing plate 22 is straight and the upper rubbing plate 20 is curved as shown in Fig. 2, the coacting surfaces of the plates 20 and 22 are leather or rubber covered. Secured in eyes 24 on the lower rubblng plate 22 are two lower plate springs 25, each of which is preferably made adjustable by-means of a thumb nut 26. Secured in eyes 27 on the upper rubbing plate 20 are main upper rubbing plate springs 28 which are also adjustable by means of thumb nuts 29. Also secured in eyes 30 to the upper rubbing plate 20 are auxiliary upper rubhing plate springs 31 which may be adjusted by means of thumb nuts 32.

The lower rubbing plate is actuated by means of a series of cams 35 carried on a shaft 36, this shaft being driven from any suitable source of power, not shown, by means of a belt, not shown, on a pulley 37. The cams 35 are so placed that they engage the lower side of the plate 22 raising it against the tension of the springs 25. Also secured on the shaft 36 outside the frame 11 is a cam 40 which engages 'a roll 41 carried on a lever 42, this lever being held in the position shown in Fig. 3 by a tension spring 43. The lever 42 is rigidly secured'to a shaft 44 which is carried in bearings 45 and which carries a combv 46.

The method of operation of my invention is as follows: v 1

The yucca leaves are boiled, rolled or otherwise treated to partially disintegrate them and partially separate the fiber from the pulp and are then dried. The leaves whichhave been reduced to a mass of dried fiber with adherent pectinous and cellular matter are then run through the feed rolls 12 into the space between the upper plate 20 and the lower plate 22. The material is at this time in a very dry state and consists of the more or less separated fibers to which the dry pulp is adhering. The material is passed between the plates 20 and 22 so that the ends project slightly beyond the edge of the lates.

The material is fed by the feed rolls 12 into the space between the plates when they are in their lower position, and as the cams 35 revolve they force the lower plate upwardly against the upper plate, the plates rising from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to the position shown in dotted lines in that figure. The tension of the springs 31 and 28 is so adjusted that with the plates in their lower position there is a small opening between them into which and through which the material can readily pass. As the plates rise the tension of the spring 28 increases and the tension ofthe spring 31 diminishes so that the upper plate rests with increasing force on the lower plate'as the lower plate rises, thus gripping the fibers. The position of the shafts 21 and 23 is such that there is a rubbing motion between the plates as they rise, the upper plate sliding to the right across the lower plate, as will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 2. This rubbing action is important as it tends to loosen the pulp from the fiber.

The projecting ends of the fibers are thrown upwardly by the movement of the plates 20 and 22 so that the comb 46 enters the fibers close to the end of the plates as they rise. The comb is then moved outwardly from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 to the position shown in dotted lines in that figure, the teeth of the comb 46 being drawn quickly through the fiber for a distance which is somewhat greater than the travel of the fiber between the plates 20 and 22 at each upward movement of the plates. During this combing action the fiber is gripped solidly between the plates 20 and 22. This rapid drawing of the comb through the fiber tends to remove the pulp from the fiber the removed particles falling downwardly between the end of the plates 20 and 22 and the rolls 13. This combing action is important as it mechanically loosens the fibers from each other and tends to break away any adhering pulp which may stick thereto.

The various parts are run at a high rate of speed, and at the same time that the fiber is being rubbed and combed, there is a third action which may be called a flapping action. This action is due to the rapid rise and fall of the outer end ofthe plates 20 and 22 so that the fiber which projects therefrom is violently thrown up and down, this movement tending to throw out of the mass of fibers any foreign material which may be carried therein but which does not actually adhere solidly to the fiber. The flapping action is contemporaneous with and supplemental to the rubbing and combing action, practically all of the pulp which has been separated by the rubbing and combing actions being thrown out of the material due to the flapping action, so that cleaned fiber is delivered to the rolls 13 and by them delivered to suitable baling or hanking machinery, not shown.

The comb 46, when used as set forth herein, is very efiicient in that it is self cleaning. In case that the fiber is tangled or that the pulp is very adherent to the fiber 'the comb is not clogged up with either fiber or pulp as the downward movement of the fiber pulls the teeth of the comb free without clogging.

I claim as my invention 1. A device for cleaning fiber comprising a primary plate; a secondary plate, said plates being each pivoted on parallel shafts and so placed that they have a rubbing motion with relation to each other; and means for moving said plates to cause such rubbing motion.

2. A device as in claim 1 also comprising means for maintaining a separation of said plates in one extreme position.

3. A device as in claim 2 also comprising means for exerting pressure between said plates as they recede from said extreme position.

4. A device for cleaning fiber comprising a pair of plates between which the fiber is gripped and beyond which the fiber projects; a comb; means for s0 moving said plates as to throw the fiber projecting from the edges of said plates between the teeth of said comb; and means for pulling the teeth of said comb through said fiber.

5. A device'as in claim 4 also comprising means for separating said plates when in such a position that the fiber is free from said comb; and means for feeding the fiber through said plates when so separated.

6. A device for cleaning fiber comprising a frame; feed rolls journaled in said frame; an upper plate shaft journaled in said frame; a lower plate shaft journaled in said frame below said upper plate shaft, said lower plate shaft and said upper plate shaft being so placed with relation to said feed rolls that the fiber fed between said rolls will be fed bythe motion of said rolls into the space between said shafts; an upper plate rigidly secured at one end to said upper plate shaft and projecting in the general direction of travel of said fiber; a lower plate rigidly secured at one end to said lower plate shaft and projecting in the same direction as and below said upper plate; and driving means for so rotating said shafts as to cause a rubbing action between said plates.

7. A device as in claim 6 in which one of said plates is curved so that there is a progressive rubbing action between said plates.

8. A device as in claim 6 in which the driving means comprises springs tending to hold the free ends of said plates in their lower position and cams so arranged as to force said lower plate up against the upper plate.

9. A device as in claim 8 in which the springs on the upper plate are so constructed as to -greatly increase the pressure between said plates as the free ends of the teeth away from said free ends of said plates move upward. plates while said plates are at or near their 10 10. A device as in claim 6 also comprisupper position, ing a comb pivoted at its upper edge in said I testimony whereof, I have hereunto set 5 frame, its lower toothed edge being so lomy hand at Los Angeles, California, this cated that it is immediately adjacent to the 15th day of June, 1918. free ends of said plates in their extreme upper position; and means for pulling said. LOUIS H. TOLHURST. 

